I came on board at Hakuhodo Percept in 2011 and in partnership with my Managing Director, have been on a mission to reengineer the agency philosophy and approach to transform the company from a traditional ATL-only agency into an organization that works together with clients to provide innovative solutions and ideas beyond conventional advertising.

A key factor in this ongoing journey of reinvention has been the emphasis on a department-less company that encourages its people to gain diverse skill sets across a broad range of emerging businesses, such as retail strategy, CRM, digital and even events, not just communication and design. Through key hires and reorientation, the goal to create idea leaders that work in a collaborative model to drive new solutions and initiatives for clients is well on its way to defining the future model of agencies in India.

The approach has enjoyed an impressive amount of traction and success for Hakuhodo Percept and its client partners, putting the organization on a faster growth trajectory over the last 5 years than in previous years of operations in India.

Finding new, untried ways to create magic for brands is something that has been a part of my professional journey of over 27 years now, a major part of which was as creative director in agencies such as DDB Mudra, Lowe, National Creative Director of Percept and Cheil and ECD at JWT. I have set up planning, design and even digital divisions across agencies in an effort to create more integrated offerings for my clients.

As a Mumbai-kar turned Delhi-ite, I believe that ideas should connect to local culture, yet be universally understood, and the trick to doing that well is to be a champion of insights.

I have been a speaker and jury member at ADFEST and served on the jury of the Delhi and Bombay Ad Club.

The company name was changed from Hakuhodo Percept to Hakuhodo.Sync Pvt. Ltd. in 2018.

Roles and titles current when this article was published in September 2017.